THE ANTICHRIST DOCTRINE
The Antichrist of the Bible is mentioned in the Epistles of John in the following verses:
1John 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
1John 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
1John 4:3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
2John 1:7 For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
“Those who become confused in their understanding of the Word, who fail to see the meaning of antichrist, will surely place themselves on the side of antichrist. There is no time for us to assimilate with the world...” {PH139 11.1}
The two important characteristics are:
- The antichrist denies that Jesus has come in the flesh.
- The antichrist denies the Father and the Son.
No Protestant with a competent knowledge of history, Bible prophecy and the Papacy will deny that the Roman church fulfills the above criteria and is the antichrist system of the Bible prophecy, the "man of sin", "the son of perdition". How then does the Roman church fulfill the above characteristics?
1. The antichrist denies that Jesus has come in the flesh.
It would be foolhardy for anyone or any organization to deny that historically a man called Jesus, some 2000 years ago, walked this earth in the flesh, in bodily form. This is not what John is referring to when stating that antichrist denies that Jesus has come in the FLESH. The word flesh refers to NATURE, human nature, that Jesus came in the nature of sinful humanity. That he partook of our sinful, fallen nature, that God was manifest in the flesh. Strong’s concordance has the following meanings for flesh.
FLESH: 4561 sarx sarx {sarx}
probably from the base of 4563; TDNT - 7:98,1000; n f
AV - flesh 147, carnal 2, carnally minded + 5427 1, fleshly 1; 151
1) flesh (the soft substance of the living body, which covers
the bones and is permeated with blood) of both man and beasts
2) the body
2a) the body of a man
2b) used of natural or physical origin, generation or
relationship
2b1) born of natural generation
2c) the sensuous nature of man, "the animal nature"
2c1) without any suggestion of depravity
2c2) the animal nature with cravings which incite to sin
2c3) the physical nature of man as subject to suffering
3) a living creature (because possessed of a body of flesh) whether man or beast
4) the flesh, denotes mere human nature, the earthly nature of man apart from divine influence, and therefore prone to sin and opposed to God
And that while existing in this very “thing”, fallen human nature, maintained the perfect sinlessness of it, in that he never once sinned. Now the antichrist would deny that.
The Antichrist denies the doctrine of Christ incarnating in sinful fallen flesh, flesh (nature) like yours and mine - that His HUMAN NATURE was sinful. The antichrist denies this through the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
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THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION.
AT JONES: CONSECRATED WAY TO CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.
CHAPTER VI: "MADE OF A WOMAN"
By what means was Christ made flesh? Through what means was He partaker of human nature?--Exactly the same means as are all of us partakers: all of the children of men. For it is written: "As the children [of the man] are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same." Likewise signifies "in the like way," "thus," "in the same way." So He partook of "the same" flesh and blood that men have in the same way that men partake of it. Men partake of it by birth. So "likewise" did He. Accordingly, it is written, "Unto us a Child is born." Accordingly, it is further written: "God sent forth His Son, made of a woman." Gal. 4:4. He, being made of a woman in this world, in the nature of things He was made of the only kind of woman that this world knows.
.... Consequently, it is true, without any sort of exception, that "in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren." Heb. 2:17.
... It is thoroughly understood that in His birth Christ did partake of the nature of Mary--the "woman" of whom He was "made." But the carnal mind is not willing to allow that God in His perfection of holiness could endure to come to men where they are in their sinfulness. Therefore endeavor has been made to escape the consequences of this glorious truth, which is the emptying of self, by inventing a theory that the nature of the virgin Mary was different from the nature of the rest of mankind; that her flesh was not exactly such flesh as is that of all mankind. This invention sets up that by some special means Mary was made different from the rest of human beings, especially in order that Christ might be becomingly born of her.
This invention has culminated in what is known as the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Many Protestants, if not the vast majority of them as well as other non-Catholics, think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Jesus by the virgin Mary. But this is altogether a mistake. It refers not at all to the conception of Christ by Mary but to the conception of Mary herself by her mother.
The official and "infallible" doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as solemnly defined as an article of faith, by Pope Pius IX, speaking ex cathedra on the 8th of December 1854 is as follows:--
“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a special grace and privilege of Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of mankind, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, has been revealed by God, and therefore is to be firmly and steadfastly believed by all the faithful.
Wherefore, if any shall presume, which may God avert, to think in their heart otherwise then has been defined by us, let them know, and moreover understand, that they are condemned by their own judgment, that they have made shipwreck as regards the faith, and have fallen away from the unity of the Church.”--Catholic Belief, page 214.
This conception is defined by Catholic writers thus:-- The ancient writing, "De Nativitate Christi," found in St. Cyprian's works says: Because (Mary) being "very different from the rest of mankind, human nature, but not sin, communicated itself to her."
Theodore, patriarch of Jerusalem, said in the second council of Nice, that Mary "is truly the mother of God, and virgin before and after childbirth; and she was created in a condition more sublime and glorious than that of all natures, whether intellectual or corporeal."--Id., pages 216, 217.
This plainly puts the nature of Mary entirely beyond any real likeness or relationship to mankind or human nature as it is. Having this clearly in mind, let us follow this invention in its next step. Thus it is, as given in the words of Cardinal Gibbons:--
“We affirm that the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Word of God, who in His divine nature is, from all eternity, begotten of the Father, consubstantial with Him, was in the fulness of time again begotten, by being born of the virgin, thus taking to himself from her maternal womb a human nature of the same substance with hers. As far as the sublime mystery of the incarnation can be reflected in the natural order, the blessed Virgin, under the overshadowing of the Holy Ghost, by communicating to the Second Person of the adorable Trinity, as mothers do, a true human nature of the same substance with her own, is thereby really and truly His mother.”--Faith of Our Fathers, pages 198, 199.
Now put these two things together. First, we have the nature of Mary defined as being not only "very different from the rest of mankind," but "more sublime and glorious than all natures:" thus putting her infinitely beyond any real likeness or relationship to mankind as we really are.
Next, we have Jesus described as taking from her a human nature of the same substance as hers. From this theory it therefore follows as certainly as that two and two make four, that in His human nature the Lord Jesus is "very different" from the rest of mankind; indeed, His nature is not human nature at all.
Such is the Roman Catholic doctrine concerning the human nature of Christ. The Catholic doctrine of the human nature of Christ is simply that that nature is not human nature at all, but divine: "more sublime and glorious than all natures." It is that in His human nature Christ was so far separated from mankind as to be utterly unlike that of mankind, that His was a nature in which He could have no sort of fellow-feeling with mankind.
But such is not the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus is that "as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same."
The faith of Jesus is that God sent "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh."
The faith of Jesus is that "in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren.
The faith of Jesus is that He "Himself took our infirmities" and was touched "with the feeling of our infirmities," being tempted in all points like as we are. If He was not as we are, He could not possibly be tempted "like as we are." But He was "in all points tempted like as we are." Therefore He was "in all points" "like as we are."
In the quotations of Catholic faith which in this chapter we have cited, we have presented the faith of Rome as to the human nature of Christ and of Mary. In the second chapter of Hebrews and kindred texts of Scripture there is presented--and in these studies we have endeavored to reproduce as there presented--the faith of Jesus as to the human nature of Christ.
The faith of Rome as to the human nature of Christ and Mary and of ourselves springs from that idea of the natural mind that God is too pure and too holy to dwell with us and in us in our sinful human nature; that sinful as we are, we are too far off for Him in His purity and holiness to come to us just as we are.
The true faith--the faith of Jesus--is that, far off from God as we are in our sinfulness, in our human nature which He took, He has come to us just where we are; that, infinitely pure and holy as He is, and sinful, degraded, and lost as we are, He in Christ by His Holy Spirit will willingly dwell with us and in us to save us, to purify us, and to make us holy.
The faith of Rome is that we must be pure and holy in order that God shall dwell with us at all.
The faith of Jesus is that God must dwell with us and in us in order that we shall be holy or pure at all.”
the end
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The Antichrist would deny that. All who believe such a doctrine are therefore in the camp of antichrist and that includes all PROFESSING SDAs who stubbornly cling to the doctrine of a SINLESS HUMAN NATURE for Jesus simply because the church or leadership says so.
The antichrist denies the Father and the Son
How does the antichrist deny the Father and the Son? Fundamental to every religious body is their belief regarding GOD. Do the various Protestant and Catholic denominations deny the words FATHER and SON in their doctrinal statements? Not so. However, simply using the words Father & Son does not necessarily imply one is not antichrist.
Despite their use of the words Father & Son, what is being denied is the LITERAL Fatherhood and Sonship in the Godhead - that GOD is a literal father hence the appellation “GOD the Father” and that Jesus is a literal Son, hence the phrase “the Son of God”.
The words Father and Son therefore, are not metaphors when it comes to God but is to be understood literally as God intended when He said: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” and as John did in 2John 1:3: Grace be with you, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love."
Any religious body or individual who denies that Jesus partook of our sinful human nature and who denies the literal Fatherhood of God and the literal Sonship of Jesus is in fact, Antichrist.
“He who denies the personality of God and of his Son Jesus Christ, is denying God and Christ. "If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father." If you continue to believe and obey the truths you first embraced regarding the personality of the Father and the Son, you will be joined together with him in love. There will be seen that union for which Christ prayed just before his trial and crucifixion:”-- {RH, March 8, 1906 par. 19}
“The beloved John continues his warning against seducers: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but he that acknowledgeth the Son, hath the Father also)." {ST, April 12, 1883 par. 18}
Who is the father of christ?
Answer: God the Father.
Grace be with you, mercy, [and] peace, from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. 2John 1:3
For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. 2Peter 1:17
“God is the Father of Christ; Christ is the Son of God. To Christ has been given an exalted position. He has been made equal with the Father. All the counsels of God are opened to His Son.” {8T 268.3}
The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son, and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both.-- Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36. {7ABC 438.3}
“Jesus refused to receive the homage of His people until He had the assurance that His sacrifice was accepted by the Father. He ascended to the heavenly courts, and from God Himself heard the assurance that His atonement for the sins of men had been ample, that through His blood all might gain eternal life. The Father ratified the covenant made with Christ, that He would receive repentant and obedient men, and would love them even as He loves His Son. Christ was to complete His work, and fulfill His pledge to "make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir." Isa. 13:12. All power in heaven and on earth was given to the Prince of Life, and He returned to His followers in a world of sin, that He might impart to them of His power and glory.” {DA 790.3}
“Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled. When upon the cross He cried out," It is finished," He addressed the Father. The compact had been fully carried out. Now He declares: Father, it is finished. I have done Thy will, O My God. I have completed the work of redemption. If Thy justice is satisfied, "I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am" (John 19:30; 17:24). {LHU 103.2}
We want the light of the glory of God to shine upon us. Paul says, "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." It is the Father who "so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." "Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named." The family is named after the Father. Those who enter the heavenly mansions will have the name of the Father and the name of the city of God written in their foreheads. They will bear the divine superscription, and be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruptions that are in the world through lust. {RH, July 19, 1892 par. 7}
When was christ begotten?
Answer: In Eternity, from everlasting.
Proverbs 8:23* I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24* When [there were] no depths, I was brought forth; when [there were] no fountains abounding with water.
25* Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
27* When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
29* When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30* Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him;
Micah 5:2* But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, [though] thou be little among the thousands of Judah, [yet] out of thee shall he come forth unto me [that is] to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth [have been] from of old, from everlasting.
“The King of the universe summoned the heavenly hosts before Him, that in their presence He might set forth the true position of His Son, and show the relation He sustained to all created beings. The Son of God shared the Father's throne, and the glory of the eternal, self-existent One encircled both.”-- Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 36. {7ABC 438.3}
“Through Solomon Christ declared: "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. . . . When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment; when He appointed the foundations of the earth; then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him." [Prov. 8:22-25, 29, 30.] {TA 23.4}
“Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father,--one in nature, in character, in purpose,--the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When he appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by him, as one brought up with him" (Isa 9:6; Micah 5:2; Prov. 8:22-30).” {TMK 11.2}
“The Lord Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, existed from eternity, a distinct person, yet one with the Father. He was the surpassing glory of heaven. He was the commander of the heavenly intelligences, and the adoring homage of the angels was received by Him as His right. This was no robbery of God. "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way," He declares, "before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: while as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depths" (Prov. 8:22-27). {LHU 16.4}
Was he the “son of god” prior to his first coming?
KING NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S witness:
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. Daniel 3:25
So sad that a heathen King could recognise the literal pre-incarnate Son of God and yet the majority today are so blind at this critical time in the prophecy. King Nebucchanezzar stands as a witness against all those who believe He is only a figurative son prior to His incarnation.
Notice how the NIV tries to corrupt and obscure the fact that Jesus is the Son of God prior to his incarnation.
NIV: He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." Daniel 3:25
It has always been the aim of the devil to obscure the fact that Jesus is the only begotten Son of God. The Lord has warned:
“Angels were expelled from heaven because they would not work in harmony with God. They fell from their high estate because they wanted to be exalted. They had come to exalt themselves, and they forgot that their beauty of person and of character came from the Lord Jesus. This fact the [fallen] angels would obscure, that Christ was the only begotten Son of God, and they came to consider that they were not to consult Christ.” {TDG 128.1}
Unfortunately for the devil and his cronies and all those NIV sympathizers out there, the Word of the Lord cannot be broken. Here's the servant of the Lord:
“From his royal seat the king looked on, expecting to see the men who had defied him utterly destroyed. But his feelings of triumph suddenly changed. The nobles standing near saw his face grow pale as he started from the throne and looked intently into the glowing flames. In alarm the king, turning to his lords, asked, "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? . . . Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God." {CC 252.3}
Not "a son of the gods"
“How did that heathen king know what the Son of God was like? The Hebrew captives filling positions of trust in Babylon had in life and character represented before him the truth. When asked for a reason of their faith, they had given it without hesitation. Plainly and simply they had presented the principles of righteousness, thus teaching those around them of the God whom they worshiped. They had told of Christ, the Redeemer to come; and in the form of the fourth in the midst of the fire the king recognized the Son of God. . . .” {CC 252.4}
“Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth before the vast multitude, showing themselves unhurt. The presence of their Saviour had guarded them from harm, and only their fetters had been burned. . . .” {RC 89.3}
The pre-incarnate Son of God came to their rescue. Praise the Lord.
Here's a great promise:
“He who walked with the Hebrew worthies in the fiery furnace will be with His followers wherever they are. His abiding presence will comfort and sustain. In the midst of the time of trouble --trouble such as has not been since there was a nation-- His chosen ones will stand unmoved. Satan with all the hosts of evil cannot destroy the weakest of God's saints. Angels that excel in strength will protect them, and in their behalf Jehovah will reveal Himself as a "God of gods," able to save to the uttermost those who have put their trust in Him.” {CC 252.5}
Friends, Jesus is the literal preincarnate Son of God, trust in Him.
1John 5:4,5 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Now the devil wouldn't want you to be an overcomer, would he? Therefore he would naturally try to obscure the fact that Jesus is the only begotten son of God, first begotten in heaven. Evidently as 1John 5:4,5 declares there is something in that belief that results in you becoming an overcomer.
MOSES’ witness:
“The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.” Deut. 18:15. {LHU 29.1}
“Through Moses, God's purpose to send His Son as the Redeemer of the fallen race was kept before Israel. On one occasion, shortly before his death, Moses declared, "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." Plainly had Moses been instructed for Israel concerning the work of the Messiah to come. "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee," was the word of Jehovah to His servant;" and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him" (Deut. 18:15, 18) (Prophets and Kings, pp. 683, 684). {LHU 29.4}
“The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name "Jesus" on the roll of the firstborn. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, "A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you" (Acts 3:22). He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had asked to see. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest's arms; and when he enrolled the child's name, he was enrolling the name of One who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy (The Desire of Ages, pp. 50-52).
1. "Through Moses, God's purpose to send His Son as the Redeemer of the fallen race was kept before Israel."
2. "The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written,..."
3. "He did not think that this babe was He whose glory Moses had asked to see."
WHO WAS THIS BABE?
"How different would have been the Scriptural record of the history of Israel, a nation so highly favored of the Lord, if they had carried out the instruction given them from the pillar of cloud by the Son of the living God. But they did not diligently follow the admonitions given. They failed to teach their children the requirements of God; and the sad results are pictured before us in a nation rejected of God. They separated so far from the wisdom of God that when the Great Teacher, Jesus, the world's Redeemer, appeared, they cried, "Away with Him!" ..." {CSW 47.1}
" The Son of God, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, was the leader of the children of Israel, overseeing every phase of their experience. He educated and disciplined them, often testing their faith. Fleeing from Pharaoh's host, they found themselves at one time hemmed in by inaccessible mountains, with the Red Sea before them and the enemy following hard after. The command came, "Go forward," and as they obeyed, the waters parted before them. In their journey through the wilderness, the Israelites were led and protected by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. . . ." {UL 341.5}
4. "...if they had carried out the instruction given them from the pillar of cloud by the Son of the living God."
5. " The Son of God, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud,..."
WHO WAS THIS BABE? The pre-incarnate "....Son of the Living GOD"
Remember friends: 1John 2:22* Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
SOLOMON’s witness:
* Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what [is] his name, and what [is] his son's name, if thou canst tell? Proverbs 30:4
"...what [is] his name, and what [is] his son's name, if thou canst tell?" What a question. A Father and His Son and no-one else had "...established all the ends of the earth..." Do you think Solomon knew the answer to the question? Of course he did! Do you think Solomon thought the word "SON" was a metaphor? Or the word "FATHER" for that matter? The evidence points to the contrary.
The Son of God is speaking through Solomon in Proverbs 8 (see SOP commentary later):
22 The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24 When [there were] no depths, I was brought forth; when [there were] no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth:
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, [as] one brought up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him;
Let's unpack the above verses from a layman's perspective and with the help of Strong's Concordance use the following alternatives and see what we come up with. Now the King James is absolutely fine just as it reads, but it was an interesting exercise which I thought I'd share with you.
1. Verse 22: possessed me: 07069 hnq qanah {kaw-naw'} Lets use: 1a1a) - of God originating,
2. Verse 23: I was set up: 05258 Kon nacak {naw-sak'} Lets use: 2) to set, install 2a) (Qal) to install
3. Verse 24: I was brought forth: 02342 lwx chuwl {khool} or chiyl {kheel} Let's use: AV - formed 5, 1d) (Hophal) to be born
4. Verse 25: was I brought forth: 02342 lwx chuwl {khool} or chiyl {kheel} Let's use: AV - formed 5,
5. Verse 27: When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there:
6. Verse 30: when he appointed the foundations of the earth Then I was by him,
7. Verse 30: [as] one brought up [with him]: 0525 Nwma 'amown {aw-mone'} from 0539, probably in the sense of training;
THE WITNESS OF PROVERBS 8:22-30
22 The LORD originated me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old.
23 I was installed from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was.
24 When [there were] no depths, I was formed / born when [there were] no fountains abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I formed / born
26 While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world.
27 When he prepared the heavens, I [was] there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth:
28 When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
29 When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth:
30 Then I was by him, [as] one trained up [with him]: and I was daily [his] delight, rejoicing always before him;
Now the Greek scholars among you may laugh at the above and fair enough, I am not a Greek scholar or theologian. Interesting that Isaiah was inspired to pen the following.
Isaiah 43:10* Ye [are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Doesn't Isaiah now make sense in the light of Proverbs 8? There was no God formed before Jesus neither shall there be any formed after Him.
Sister White has this to say concerning Proverbs 8:
“The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate--a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John1:1,2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father--one in nature, in character, in purpose-- the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. "His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6. His "goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: "The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him. Proverbs 8:22-30.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 1890 p 34
And again she declares:
"Through Solomon Christ declared: "The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. . . . When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him." {LHU 17.6}
The Scripture declares:
1John 2:22-25* Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also]. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. (just the two individuals friends)
And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life.
Friends, Jesus is the literal pre-incarnate Son of God who was brought forth in heaven and was born again into humanity. He was twice "born" in order to save us that we might be twice "born" in order to be saved. That is the faith once delivered to the saints which we must earnestly contend for. That is the faith of our forefathers.
By the way friends, a metaphor did not send a metaphor to save us - God sent His literal pre-incarnate Son to become one of us in order to save us from sin.
